Toy ruler with animated figures



Feb. 19, 1957 5. J. c. BOURDIN 2,781,595

TOY RULER WITH ANIMATED FIGURES Filed March 26. 1954 jz' a l. i is fin iii al 55%? M0155 C/M'fLES BUURDl/v IN VENTOR ATTORNEY United StatesPatentO 2,781,595 TOY RULER WITH ANIMATED FIGURES 1 Serge Jules CharlesBourdin, Paris, France I Application March 26, 1954, Serial No. 419,036

Claims priority, application France March 30, 1953 I 7 Claims; (CI.40-96) The present invention has for its object a pupils toy ruler fordesk or drawing use, which comprises an animated or a fixed decorativedesign intended for entertaining, instructive or advertising purposes.

According to the invention, the ruler is hollow and made of atransparent material, and it is internally fitted with a stripsupporting a decorative design arranged in front of a background adaptedto said design, means being provided for shifting said strip relative tosaid background.

By means of non-restrictive examples, there may be represented on themovable strip: cyclist racers running in front of a background includingroads, mountain landscapes, hunting in front of a plain or forestlandscape, soldiers parading in front of historical monuments, etc.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art, from a consideration of thefollowing description of one specific embodiment of the invention, shownby way of example, 7

in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a ruler according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of this ruler;

Fig. 3 is a top view with some parts broken away of one of the faces ofthe ruler;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the ruler;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a roller for shifting the movable strip;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view, showing the elements for holding the fixeddecorative background;

Fig. 7 shows the movable strip formed into shape ready to be placed onthe assembly of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is an elevational front view of the stationary background. In theembodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, 1 denotes thestationary decorative background which may be constituted by a strip ofmaterial such as paper, Bristol paper, and the like, adapted to receivethereon by means of the conventional drawing, printing or photoengravingprocesses a decorative design related to the subject which is to standon the movable strip 2.

The decorative background 1 is clamped between two transparent bars 3and 4, the ends of which are rounded into a semi-circle.

Over the assembly of the two bars 3 and 4, thus brought near each otheris slipped the transparent strip 2 which is thin and flexible, and whichmay be made of a material similar to that the moving picture films aremade of. The strip 2 embraces with a gentle friction and in a continuousmanner the assembly illustrated in Fig. 6. Upon this strip are appliedby any suitable means the subjects adapted to be animated and to move infront of the stationary background 1.

The above mentioned assembly is enclosed within the hollow ruler properconstituted by the transparent plates 5 and 6 and the covers 7 and 8which may not be transparent. Should the above mentioned plates andcovers not be made integral, they may be assembled by adhesive means forinstance. The covers 7 and 8 are in engagement with the top and bottomparts of the assembly shown in Fig. 6 while a given clearance may beleft between said assembly and the plates 5 and 6 for avoiding the outerface of the flexible strip 2 to get marred due to the frictionaleflt'ect.

At both ends of the ruler provision is made for rollers 9, and 10made-of, rubber, gutta, or the like, which are in engagement with theouter face of the flexible strip 2. It will be readilyunderstood thatwhen the rollers are rotated in the direction of the arrows, the,flexible strip' is driven in the direction indicated in Figs. 3 and 7.

-In the modification shown in Fig. 3, guide-rolls 11 and 12 are providedin suitable recesses provided within the bars 3 and 4, said guide rollsbeing in bearing engagement with the inner face of the flexible strip 2which is thus pressed between the rollers and guide rolls 9 and 11 onone hand, and 10 and 12 on the other hand.

In any case, the rollers 9 and 10 may be maintained by means of pins 13,the projecting ends of which'are supported in corresponding bearingrecesses provided in the end portions of the covers 7 and 8.

In order to conceal the ends of pins 13, and if the plates 5 and 6 andthe covers 7 and 8 are assembled by adhesive means in order alsopossibly to improve the assemblage of the external elements of theruler, over the end portions of the ruler may be slipped rubber bands 14and 15 forinstance, or metal rings suitably made to shape and forcedlydriven. The small-thickness of such bands or rings enables the ruler notto bear against the paper on which a line is being drawn thus avoidingthe ink to flow under the ruler and ruin the work. When rubber is used,the bands form an antiskidding device which holds the ruler firmly inplace on the paper.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense. For instance the shifting of the strip could be achieved like inmoving picture films by means of a sprocket wheel cooperating withperforations along the strip.

What I claim is:

1. Toy ruler comprising in combination a casing constituted by twolateral transparent elongated plates arranged in parallelspaced-relationship and top and bottom covers longitudinally secured tosaid plates, two transparent bars arranged inside said casing, withtheir ends rounded into semi-cylinders, the top and bottom surfaces ofsaid bars being respectively in engagement with said covers, said barsleaving a gap between themselves and relative to the inner face of eachof said transparent plates, a transparent endless flexible stripcarrying a decorative design arranged around said bars and adapted to beshifted along and in said gap provided between said bars and saidtransparent plates, a thin background element. inserted between. saidtwo transparent bars and carrying a design in accordance with saiddesign carried by said strip and driving means manually operable from Ithe exterior of said casing and operatively connected to said strip forshifting said strip in said casing, while said background remainsstationary.

2. The combination'of claim 1 wherein said driving means consists of aroller rotatably mounted'in at least an end of said casing in frictionalengagement with the outer face of said flexible strip and adapted to berotated by a finger through an aperture in the end of said casing.

3. The combination of claim 1 with the provision of cylindrical recessesin the end portions of said two transparent bars, back-rollers rotatablymounted in said recesses with their cylindrical surface in frictionalengagement with the inner face of said flexible strip, said drivingmeans being constituted by a roller rotatably mounted at each end ofsaid casing and in frictionalengagement with the outer face of saidflexible strip opposite said two back rollers respectively, said rollerspartially protruding out of said casing for engagement by a finger ofthe user. p

4. T hecombination of 'claim 2 wherein said roller is rigid with anaxial pin adapted topivot in corresponding recesses of said covers. t

5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said roller is made of highfriction material.

6. A toy ruler comprising a stationary background strip carrying adesign, a movable endless transparent strip traveling around saidstationary background strip and carrying a design complementary to thedesign of said background strip, transparent means holding saidbackground strip and providing a guiding surface for 4 said travelingstrip, manually operated means actuating said movable strip, and acasing enclosing said strips and holding means, said casing having atransparent top wall.

7. A toy ruler comprising a stationary background strip carrying adesign, a movable endless transparent strip traveling around saidstationary background strip and carrying a design complementary to thedesign of said background strip, transparent means holding saidbackground strip and providing a guiding surface for said travelingstrip, at least one manually operated roller frictionally engaging saidmovable strip for displacement thereof with respect to said stationarystrip, and a casing enclosing said strips and holding means, said casinghaving a transparent top wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS564,211 Mishler July 21, 1896 1,553,906 Marette Sept. 15, 1925 2,239,187Becker Apr. 22, 1941 2,304,327 Anderson Dec. 8, 1942

